"The Wild South" South Island by Kimi_the_Bear

I live in the South Island, so I travel here all the time. There are so many fantastic places that I cannot really tell you which would be my favourite spot. I have been nearly everywhere.

Not only the landscapes are fantastic but also the birds, and seals, and whales, and dolphins.

Little break in an ice-cave in Franz Josef Glacier

One of my favourite activities is hiking. The New Zealanders call this tramping. And my favourite version of it is to sit in a backpack and have a look around from my elevated seat. But I also climb on trees, over fences, and I have walked on Franz Josef Glacier. There I even had to crawl through an ice-cave. That was really exciting.

I have screamed on a jetboat, looked down to the mountains from an airplane on a scenic flight over the Southern Alps, and shivered on huge boulders surrounded by the sea. You will be impressed of how many adventures on the South Island I can tell you.

Birdwatch hide near Arthur's Pass.

My first big trip in New Zealand was with Mama and Papa to various destinations in the South Island, and then by ferry to the North Island. When Mama went back to Germany to pack up her last stuff, sell her car and cash in her last pay cheques, I stayed in New Zealand with Papa, and he took me to the West Coast. We walked to the glaciers, and I think he really enjoyed my company. That was the time when he first taught me how to repair a computer.

Since then I have travelled all over the place. My favourite place to stay is the bear room in the B & B in Middlemarch. My favourite place off the Beaten Path is Katiki Point, the place of the Penguin Hospital near Moeraki. My best memory is an encounter with a Yellow-eyed Penguin who walked up the hill after coming out from sea, and was not afraid of me.

Normally I stay in so called penguin hides when I want to watch penguins. Or in such practical tree trunks like on the photo.

• Pros:Penguins that are not afraid of me
• Cons:Why are the keas afraid of me?
• In a nutshell:The South Island has everything a Bear can Dream of